Wind is a clean, renewable energy source that, until now, has been primarily unreliable. This is due to the fact that existing wind turbine devices cannot generate adequate power from wind blowing less than five miles per hour or from winds that continually change direction. The United States is currently the world's leading energy market and wind energy represents only 1.5% of all U.S. power generation, with a goal of 20% by 2030. Other major suppliers of energy have tried to harness the power of coal, natural gas and nuclear energy, which are less environmentally conscious. Additional sources include solar power, bio-fuels and hydrogen power but these methods are still either largely undeveloped or costly.
The presently disclosed vertical-axis wind turbine overcomes all of these problems by providing a clean, renewable energy source that offers a low cost per unit and is extremely dependable. Recent testing has shown the present disclosure offers a 75% or more Capacity Utilization Factor (CUF), whereas traditional prop turbines only offer a CUF of 33%. To date, only nuclear power comes close to offering the same reliability, but at a much greater cost. According to a recent cost comparison published by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Office of Enforcement, the cost to produce wind energy lies in the middle range of energy costs at $1,500-$2,500 per kilowatt hour (kWh), gas at $500-$1,500 per kWh and nuclear at $4,500-$7,500 per kWh. As will be seen, the present disclosure is also less expensive to construct, operate and maintain, requires a smaller carbon footprint and generates at least 227% more energy than a traditional prop wind turbine.
A few previous solutions, with different structure and operation have been suggested to alleviate this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,052,134 discloses a Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Motor that operate off a vertical axis by generating power from wind that strikes both the inward and outward side of upright vanes. This is traditionally how vertical axis wind turbines have been designed, however the present disclosure disembarks from such a design in several ways, for one by employing an outer structure comprising a plurality of controllable wind direction slats. The present disclosure also comprises blades that rotate around turbines which do not directly attach to or swing from the central axis.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,749,399 entitled Vertical Array Wind Turbine discloses a wind turbine with an array of rotors arranged at various heights, which resemble a tree with various branches. This patent lacks many of the structures and features of the present disclosure including, but not limited to a paddle turbine located at the base of the structure or the ability to run from solar power. This patent also lacks a feature of the prior art mentioned above and the present disclosure which is the ability to use power from wind blowing from more than one direction.